Comfort
by aquaXtreme
Summary: Robin's been acting less than normal, as normal as you can be if you're a 13 year old vigilante wearing tights and parading around Gotham City with a signature ninja laugh, recently.The Team, being the Team, want to know why...


**_Bonjour! :)_**

**_So, I was checking the Young Justice Challegen Forum (which you should totally check out if you haven't already) and I noticed that it was SilverXDawn's birthday some weeks ago. So I decided to write a little fic for her :)_**

**_It's not my best work but I'm not disgusted by it either. You'll just have to see for yourself :)_**

**_P.S You need to listen to Superman by Five for Fighting or Boyce Avenue. It's an amazing song and is currently my top played on my iPod! XD_**

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><p><em>It may sound absurd,<br>__But don't be naive,  
><em>_Even heroes have the right to bleed.  
><em>_I may be disturbed,  
><em>_But won't you concede,  
><em>_Even heroes have the right to dream._

**Superman by Five For Fighting**

The Team had only begun to notice it after about a week. 'It' being the change that Robin seemed to have suddenly taken on without so much as a warning.

Superboy had been the first one to notice but he hadn't mentioned it to anyone in case he was wrong. He'd been the first to sense the subtle differences in Robin's behaviour like how he never seemed to snigger or joke around much anymore and, if he did, it was done half heartedly. His keen eye was thanks to all those times when he'd done nothing but watch everyone else's behaviour whilst keeping quiet himself. He had wanted to fit in, try and be like his team mates but, after some weeks of trying, he'd given up on that. But his hawk eyes still hadn't disappeared.

Finally, Superboy had gone to Megan. She had been the only one in the cave at that time, everyone else either being at school or home. She had frowned and laughed, saying that he was just being paranoid. He hadn't taken too kindly to that. But, after that meeting, Megan started paying a bit more attention to the Boy Wonder. And she began seeing it too. For her, his smile seemed to be too wide to be real. Not in the good way but in a way that seemed almost...inhuman. And it disturbed her.

Megan had thought about going to Batman or Uncle J'onn about it but she had no idea how to tell them. Then her team members entered her thoughts but the question of privacy came up multiple times. Did Robin want to everyone to know? If he did, he'd have told them a long time ago...right? In the end, she decided to keep it to herself. And then, if it got to the point where it would affect team missions, she would come out clean.

Turned out, Megan hadn't needed to confide in anyone. Wally, Kaldur and Artemis had cornered her and Superboy, demanding that they have an urgent meeting immediately. The Martian had swapped worried glances with her confidant before hesitantly following the rest of their team. The meeting was based on Robin's...changes. The rest of the team had figured out something was up with their youngest member too, after all, they were superheroes.

"Should we confront him about it?" Megan had asked worriedly. "It might be something he really needs to talk about..."

"No," Artemis had firmly stated. "If he wanted to tell us, he'd have told us by now. We need to respect his privacy."

"Dude! Robin's my best friend! And, if he's going through some problems, we need to be there for him!" Wally had hissed, worry laced in his tone.

"Kaldur, you're the team leader. What do we do?"

Kaldur had sighed reluctantly before siding with Artemis, deciding to keep away and let Robin figure out his thoughts. Once Wally had heard the final decision, he had furiously left the rest of the team members, concern evident in his eyes even though he was muttering curses beneath his breath. Wally had decided that, just because everyone else didn't want to try and help Robin, didn't mean he had to do the same.

"Roy?"

"...Wally?"

"Yeah, it's me. I need to talk to you."

"I'm a bit bus-"

"I know, I know. You're too busy with your solo life to talk to us partners anymore but this is something important."

The Fastest Boy Alive heard a small sigh on the other end of the phone.

"What is it?"

"It's Robin."

Roy had snorted at Wally's concerns, saying that they were probably nothing. Robin was just tired and stressed because, as he remembered it, being a sidekick took a lot out of you both physically and mentally.

"Not that it had ever been a challenge for me," Red Arrow had smirked.

"Then why'd you leave?"

"...You'll get it one day, Kid," Roy had muttered before ending the call with a sharp _click_. Wally had been left holding onto his phone, the dial tone echoing in his ears and a mask of thoughtfulness on his face.

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><p>The Team finally chose to talk to Robin after a particularly harsh beating in their latest failed mission.<p>

Batman hadn't been pleased. When they had entered the cave, the Dark Knight had gone over their failures in a less that happy mood, his mouth stuck in a grim line throughout the whole thing before leaving.

And that's when they decided to do it.

After much harassment from Kid Flash, Kaldur announced it was time to confront Robin. Artemis had protested with cries that they were 'invading his privacy' before shutting up with a scowl when Wally had sent a particularly loathing glare her way.

"Robin," Kaldur started with a gentle tone. "Is everything alright?"

The Boy Wonder frowned for about a millisecond before grinning at his friends.

"Of course. Why?"

"Oh nothing," Megan laughed nervously. When she realised no one else was doing the same, she trailed off with an awkward silence following soon after.

"You know what," Superboy grunted. "This is stupid. I say, we just ask him straight out."

"Ask me what?"

"Are you on drugs?"

"What?"

"Superboy!" Wally yelled, shocked. "You don't say it like that! When you ask someone if they're on drugs, you have to use a more gentle tone."

"I don't do gentle."

"Guys!" Robin interrupted. "I'm not on drugs!"

"Told you," Artemis rolled her eyes. "He's fine. Probably just some...home issues or something."

"It's not that!" The Boy Wonder snapped, already irritated.

"Then what is it?" Kaldur asked as he sat down next to the masked wonder. "We are your team mates, Robin. And team mates help each other through rough patches."

Robin sighed before glancing at his friends' faces and their earnest, if slightly bored, looks.

"...It's...it's fine. I'm fine. I'm not saying anything because there's nothing to say. So, if it's alright with you guys, I think I'm going to go to sleep," The Boy Wonder started heading towards the door. Halfway there, he stopped and turned around to face his team mates. He smiled apologetically at them, taking note of their dejected expressions. "But thanks for the offer."

With a small shrug Robin exited the room, leaving five confused people behind.

"Well," Artemis began. "That went well."

"I hate that he's not telling me anything when I'm supposed to be his best friend!" Wally pouted as he flopped onto the sofa with a huff. The archer snorted at his actions.

"He's the protege of the Dark Knight of Gotham City. Get used to him telling you nothing."

"So, confronting him didn't work," Megan sighed tiredly. "What should we do next?"

"I say we just lea-" Artemis began briskly but was interrupted as Wally threw a cushion at her, avoiding the collision by ducking it just in time. "Why yo-!"

"I personally agree with Artemis," Superboy added, wisely stepping in to defuse the argument that had been about to come up. "If Robin doesn't want to tell us, then he doesn't want to tell us. We should stop pressurizing him. I would punch each of you in the face if you tried to do that to me."

Megan's eyes widened at his comment, making a mental note never to pressurize the clone about anything.

"So we just leave it?" Wally spat incredulously.

"We don't leave it," Kaldur concluded, a solemn look on his face. "We simply push it away for now. But we don't abandon it. Not until Robin has gotten over...the issue that has been troubling him..."

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><p>Robin groaned quietly as he slumped outside the room, having heard the entire exchange by hiding in the shadows. He definitely did not need the whole team on his back or watching his every move. He wasn't in the mood for that.<p>

The Boy Wonder slowly made his way to the teleporters, barely acknowledging anything around him, too deep in his own thoughts. Normally, he would've freely told his friends about his problems as long as it wouldn't give his identity away. But...this topic was a touchy one. He didn't like sharing information about it to others. It was too...painful.

It was this week. Their death anniversary. The Flying Graysons had ended suddenly about four years ago due to...he couldn't think about it all over again. It was bad enough that he, Robin of Gotham City, was getting nightmares about the incident. He didn't want to put himself through memories of it too.

Robin growled in sorrow and frustration before punching the nearest object. He groaned as he stared at the broken mirror.

"7 years bad luck. As if I don't have enough of that already..."

He bent down to try and pick up the pieces which lay scattered on the floor around him. A sharp stinging sensation shot up his hand and, he realised too late, that his knuckles had started bleeding. The Boy Wonder muttered angrily whilst he headed towards the kitchen and turned on the tap, running his bloody hand underneath the cold water. Pain bolted up his arm in waves before slowly subsiding.

"Red Tornado won't be happy about that mirror."

Robin shook his head at his mentor, too used to Batman's sneaking around to be surprised anymore.

"I'll get him another one."

Batman observed Robin's red hand and the shards of reflective material on the floor before reaching into the first aid cupboard and grabbing the reel of bandages.

"Losing control of your emotions won't help," He advised gruffly as he tied the gauze around Robin's knuckles, being careful not to apply too much pressure onto the wound.

"I know. I couldn't help it."

"Why didn't you tell the others?"

Robin blinked in surprise.

"You...you heard?"

Batman simply raised an eyebrow at the shocked tone in his voice.

"Of course you heard. After all, you are Batman."

"Glad to see my efforts are being recognised."

Batman let go of Robin's bandaged hand as he started walking towards the teleporter with his son in tow.

"You never answered my question."

"Didn't I?"

The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes at the evasive answer. The Boy Wonder noticed this and sighed in defeat.

"I didn't want them to know."

"Why?" It seemed more like a demand than a question.

"I...I didn't feel comfortable with them knowing why..."

"And how did they react?"

"I thought you were there?"

"Robin..." Batman stated in a warning tone.

"Fine," Robin grumbled."They weren't all too happy."

"And how are you?"

The Boy Wonder blinked back tears that were threatening to fall down his cheeks at the reminder of it all. He was 13 for crying out loud! He wasn't a child anymore. No, he'd been robbed of his childhood and had been forced to grow up much quicker than other children. He had so many more responsibilities and worries than other children his age. He was a freaking superhero! And yet, with all that in consideration, he still felt 9 years old.

"I miss them..." Robin choked out, struggling to keep his overflowing emotions in check. He would not cry. He would not cry. He would not bloody cry.

"You're not the only one," Batman sighed, his facial expression still remaining monotone.

"Oh right. You lost your...parents too, right?" The Boy Wonder asked but didn't receive an answer. "How did you...get used to it?"

"I didn't. Never have and probably never will."

"Great comforting words, Bruce."

"I mean it. Dick, I'm not trying to be pessimistic about anything," Batman said, a small frown on his face as he looked at his adopted son. "I have never gotten over the fact that my parents were taken away from me and I know that I never will. So, instead of whining and going over everything to make myself feel guilty, I focus everything into crime fighting."

"You've already told me that."

"Well, take it to heart. I'm not just saying this for nothing, Dick. I mean it."

"It...it still really hurts..."

"I know," Batman sighed sympathetically, his own mind unwillingly flashing back to that fateful night. He hated those memories and would give anything to get rid of them but he knew that, deep down, those very memories were the things that kept pushing him and driving him to protect everyone else. As sappy as that sounded, it was true.

"By the way, I think Alfred has made some cookies back at the mansion."

"Really," Robin asked, visibly perking up. "Are they..."

"Extra Chocolate Chip? Pretty sure they are."

"Alfred is the best," Robin smiled, the first one that seemed genuine in a long time. Bruce smiled back as he put a comforting arm around Dick's shoulders.

"Keep hanging on. You'll get through this."

"Yeah I know. I just need some help whenever the whole 'death anniversary' thing comes around," Robin admitted.

"That's not what I meant. I was talking about your cookie addiction."

"Bruce!"

Bruce laughed joyfully, a sight to behold as he was still wearing his Batman costume.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. As long as you give me your share of the cookies too," Dick grinned slyfully.

"I think you're all better now," Bruce smiled. "Come on. Alfred will be waiting for us now."

"Back home?"

"Back home."

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><p><strong><em>A bit ehh about the ending but I couldn't really think of a better one so this is what you get :)<em>**

**_Hope you liked it and happy belated birthday, SilverXDawn! :)_**


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